Raleigh/Durham NC - N-400 Timeline
- Thread starter SafferJoe
- Start date
Washburn27
Registered Users (C)
where's SafferJoe? wonder if they got too drunk after the oath ?? 
where's SafferJoe? wonder if they got too drunk after the oath ??
I think I was him on WRAL ..they had some story about a man going streaking down Fayetteville St. wearing nothing but an American flag.
Washburn27
Registered Users (C)
hehe.... it does sound like Saffer.
I'm back! Bedded my first American last night!
Time is a funny thing. When it's all ahead of you, it's difficult not to get fretful and restless. But when you've reached your milestone then all the time behind is nothing more than water under the bridge, with all the fretfulness, impatience, anxiety washed away with the swirls and eddies, and all is sweetness and light!
After convincing the check-in desk that I hadn't joined the Communist Party are become a habitual drunkard and that my wife hadn't suddenly become a prostitute in 2 days, we went into the hall and sat in Row 6. About 100 folks filed in and the ceremony started about 1:45 PM. It was led by the director (Pasco?), and he did it very well. He first acknowledged the long and painful process we all had to endure with his bureaucracy, and that we would no longer have to deal with it (applause and laughter). Then he apologized for not getting us in in time to vote (I appreciated this gesture). Then after the videos, oath, and pledge, he welcomed us as Americans - as American as direct descendants of the Founding Fathers (that was a great touch!).
I expected this to be my most painless experience with USCIS, but I didn't expect it to be as sweet and moving as it was. A bunch of different emotions jostled for attention: joy, mild anticlimax, relief, exhaustion, peace.
It was too cold and windy to walk, so we arranged to get our passports taken care of. We went to Chapel Hill PO, but when we got there they said we first needed to make an appointment! I could feel my blood pressure rising, because my tolerance of bureaucratic delays at this point was completely shot! But we called the number, and they scheduled an appointment for 12:45 PM today (I don't think I could have survived a wait until Monday).
Then we went to Lowes, bought a big American flag and bunch of little ones (one I subsequently stapled to my mailbox), and while there bumped into some American friends. They were so tickled that we were now one of them, and that we were purchasing flags. We've been amazed at how touched and pleased our many American friends have been that we are now no longer aliens (with green antennae and all).
We went to a Thai restaurant, but it was a little flat. I'm no fan of American cuisine, but I should have held my nose and ordered a Big Mac and Bud! When we got home, I walked around the neighborhood (please note the spelling!) and drank in the experience. I didn't have to take my green card with me in case a cop stopped me! After 16 years in this country, we both feel very much at home here, but there was always a subtle veil between us and "them Americans". That veil has now lifted, like the plastic cover over the screen of a new cellphone, revealing the shiny thing itself. Yup, we're now one of them!
Finally, I'd like to acknowledge this great forum. When I started this journey 16 months ago, I thought it would be a simple process of: apply, take fingerprints, be interviewed, and do oath. Quite unlike the more complicated multistage green card process, with AC21 thrown in. But when our checks hadn't been cashed for over a month, I got worried and found this forum and saw that the delay was due to the July 2007 surge. I only read the forum for the first few months, but when my acknowledgment letter arrived exactly a year and a day ago, it said I could expect to wait 730 days! That goaded me into action and I posted my first thread (this thread!) on the forum (please forgive my newbie error of calling the DO a "PO"!). That was then I got to know a lot of passengers, Bobsmyth the busdriver, and Vorpal the conductor (he's been quiet lately - no doubt due to the blissful demands of the newly wed!). I also became aware of some desperate cases: Nimche who was separated from his wife for 4 years, Gatedgal who freaked out about getting citizenship before her 28th birthday so that she could do her Top Gun thing in the USAF. And numerous other stories. By contrast, we did not have that desperate need to get citizenship fast, so we were the best folks to roll across the finish line last. If that helped others who desperately needed it, then I'm happy for them.
Another great thing about US citizenship not mentioned before is that I can now support a soccer team that might just make it to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in my native South Africa! However, come the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, I think I will still place my money on the current World Champions!
Peace all and have a great weekend. Next Thursday, you're all obligated to stuff yourselves with turkey and pumpkin pie!
Joe the American
Time is a funny thing. When it's all ahead of you, it's difficult not to get fretful and restless. But when you've reached your milestone then all the time behind is nothing more than water under the bridge, with all the fretfulness, impatience, anxiety washed away with the swirls and eddies, and all is sweetness and light!
After convincing the check-in desk that I hadn't joined the Communist Party are become a habitual drunkard and that my wife hadn't suddenly become a prostitute in 2 days, we went into the hall and sat in Row 6. About 100 folks filed in and the ceremony started about 1:45 PM. It was led by the director (Pasco?), and he did it very well. He first acknowledged the long and painful process we all had to endure with his bureaucracy, and that we would no longer have to deal with it (applause and laughter). Then he apologized for not getting us in in time to vote (I appreciated this gesture). Then after the videos, oath, and pledge, he welcomed us as Americans - as American as direct descendants of the Founding Fathers (that was a great touch!).
I expected this to be my most painless experience with USCIS, but I didn't expect it to be as sweet and moving as it was. A bunch of different emotions jostled for attention: joy, mild anticlimax, relief, exhaustion, peace.
It was too cold and windy to walk, so we arranged to get our passports taken care of. We went to Chapel Hill PO, but when we got there they said we first needed to make an appointment! I could feel my blood pressure rising, because my tolerance of bureaucratic delays at this point was completely shot! But we called the number, and they scheduled an appointment for 12:45 PM today (I don't think I could have survived a wait until Monday).
Then we went to Lowes, bought a big American flag and bunch of little ones (one I subsequently stapled to my mailbox), and while there bumped into some American friends. They were so tickled that we were now one of them, and that we were purchasing flags. We've been amazed at how touched and pleased our many American friends have been that we are now no longer aliens (with green antennae and all).
We went to a Thai restaurant, but it was a little flat. I'm no fan of American cuisine, but I should have held my nose and ordered a Big Mac and Bud! When we got home, I walked around the neighborhood (please note the spelling!) and drank in the experience. I didn't have to take my green card with me in case a cop stopped me! After 16 years in this country, we both feel very much at home here, but there was always a subtle veil between us and "them Americans". That veil has now lifted, like the plastic cover over the screen of a new cellphone, revealing the shiny thing itself. Yup, we're now one of them!
Finally, I'd like to acknowledge this great forum. When I started this journey 16 months ago, I thought it would be a simple process of: apply, take fingerprints, be interviewed, and do oath. Quite unlike the more complicated multistage green card process, with AC21 thrown in. But when our checks hadn't been cashed for over a month, I got worried and found this forum and saw that the delay was due to the July 2007 surge. I only read the forum for the first few months, but when my acknowledgment letter arrived exactly a year and a day ago, it said I could expect to wait 730 days! That goaded me into action and I posted my first thread (this thread!) on the forum (please forgive my newbie error of calling the DO a "PO"!). That was then I got to know a lot of passengers, Bobsmyth the busdriver, and Vorpal the conductor (he's been quiet lately - no doubt due to the blissful demands of the newly wed!). I also became aware of some desperate cases: Nimche who was separated from his wife for 4 years, Gatedgal who freaked out about getting citizenship before her 28th birthday so that she could do her Top Gun thing in the USAF. And numerous other stories. By contrast, we did not have that desperate need to get citizenship fast, so we were the best folks to roll across the finish line last. If that helped others who desperately needed it, then I'm happy for them.
Another great thing about US citizenship not mentioned before is that I can now support a soccer team that might just make it to the second round of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in my native South Africa! However, come the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, I think I will still place my money on the current World Champions!
Peace all and have a great weekend. Next Thursday, you're all obligated to stuff yourselves with turkey and pumpkin pie!
Joe the American
Washburn27
Registered Users (C)
Congrats, SafferJoe and the Mrs !!!! (Or Kong Rats, take your pick)
we are very happy for you, and glad to have gotten to "know" you through this forum ... who knows? we might really meet one day for real.
(Or Kong Rats, take your pick)we are very happy for you, and glad to have gotten to "know" you through this forum ... who knows? we might really meet one day for real.
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Thanks, guys! Just got back from shopping. Got some champers for tonight. We were really too tired and exhausted to really enjoy last night. But first, I've got to screw the flag holder onto the post on our deck...
Washburn, I got your message and I think it's a great idea. I'll respond more fully later, because the good missus is hollering about something, so I've got to go!
Cheers!
Washburn, I got your message and I think it's a great idea. I'll respond more fully later, because the good missus is hollering about something, so I've got to go!
Cheers!
Washburn27
Registered Users (C)
omg... was it hard letting the nat certificate "go"?
You bet! Nearly cringed when the post office lady stapled our NC together with the PP application forms... Ouuuch!!!
Washburn27
Registered Users (C)
those beasts sound nasty
those beasts sound nasty
I recommend checking out the movie "Dead Alive". It's the first Peter Jackson film (the director responsible for "Lord of the Rings") and it features a nasty beast known as the Sumatran Rat Monkey.
Washburn27
Registered Users (C)
went to SS office in Fayettenam and got everything updated; all went smooth there...
so can I apply already for pp or should I wait a bit until the new updated info gets down the pipelines to different depts. ?
OH: do I need to update status at the IRS or does the ss update cover that also?
Thanks.
so can I apply already for pp or should I wait a bit until the new updated info gets down the pipelines to different depts. ?
OH: do I need to update status at the IRS or does the ss update cover that also?
Thanks.
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